This invention relates to the thermographic apparatus for physical examination of a patient by directly measuring and analyzing the thermal radiation patterns of a patient's body.
Thermographic apparatus has been suggested for a number of years for analyzing the biological condition of human patients and the like. Such apparatus has recently more particularly been applied to the early detection of cancer and particularly breast cancer in female patients. Although there are variations in thermal radiation patterns of patients, recent developments and application of computers have allowed statistical analysis which produces accurate separation between healthy and possibly cancerous patients. One satisfactory computer-based system is more fully disclosed in a paper presented in the May 1975 issue of RADIOLOGY, Vol. 115, No. 2, at pages 341-347, in an article entitled "Computer Diagnosis of Breast Thermograms" by Marvin C. Ziskin, M.D., et al. A thermographic technique is discussed employing the photographing of the breast area and then scanning the photograph to develop a digitized image frame. A conventional close circuit television camera is used to produce a point by point reading of the thermal conditions, with digitizing of each point. Generally each scan line includes 192 points and two hundred and fifty-six scan lines are used to create a dimensional array in excess of four thousand points. These numbers are stored and subsequently processed by a general purpose computer. The decision algorithm employs a standard statistical technique of discrimination analysis in which a statistical standard is determined and various comparisons and thresholds are checked from which a determination of normality and abnormality is made. Although such diagnostic apparatus has been developed to the point where practical results are obtained, an apparatus such as disclosed is relatively complex and costly, which would significantly limit the application and usage of such a computerized thermographic system. Generally, only relatively large hospitals would have a sufficient usage factor to justify the cost. There therefore remains a need for a low cost computer-based thermographic screening apparatus.